ICE Shuts Down Its Portland Office As Protests Over Family Separations Continue

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Portland office temporarily shut its doors due to ongoing protests against the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy which leads to children being separated from their parents.

“ICE operations at this location have been temporarily halted due to security concerns,” an ICE spokesman said Wednesday in a statement reported by Oregon Public Radio. “Normal operations will resume once security concerns have been addressed.”

Dozens of protesters have been gathered outside the office since Sunday, holding up signs and banners (some comparing the agency to the Gestapo) and setting up tents in light of the rollout of the new policy, which has meant that every person crossing the border at an unofficial point of entry gets detained. So far, more than 2,300 children have been split up from their parents.

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A loud cheer comes after the moments of silence at the end of the vigil at OccupyICEPDX, just in front of the ICE Portland Headquarters in SW Macadam on June 19, 2018, in Portland, Oregon.

“We want the zero-tolerance policy to end. We want children to be released from cages,” Antonio Zamora, a demonstrator, told KATU. The news outlet reported that ICE employees were escorted out of the building by police on Tuesday.